Method, system and computer-readable medium for generating pre-purchasing confidence recommendations for a user

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method for generating pre-purchasing confidence recommendations. A browser widget scans post-sale activities of a user and searches for product-specific parameters of items from the scanned purchase records. A system stores the searched product-specific parameters and the post-sale activities in a data storage. The browser widget monitors purchasing activities of the user, and in response to the monitoring, retrieving, relevant product-specific parameters and the post-sale activities matching to the monitored purchasing activities. Based on the retrieving, generating a pre-purchasing confidence recommendation to the user before completion of a purchase by the user.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the invention generally relate to providing an improvedsystem to generate online shopping recommendations.

BACKGROUND

Online shopping has been omnipresent as the convenience of onlinemerchants has increased. The ease of purchasing goods and services inthe comfort of one's home or without the need to visit a physical storehas transformed shopping behaviors of consumers. In addition, returns orexchanges have also become quite streamlined.

Despite these conveniences, there are still shortcomings. For example,unless the user actively keeps tracks of the purchases in the past,either by finding the receipts of the purchases or searching emailrecords for shipping records, the user may not recall details of thepost-purchase, post-sale, or past purchases. Also, sometimes receipts oremail records may not include all of the details, such as a serialnumber, a stock keeping unit (SKU) value, a universal product code (UPC)value, or the like.

In a certain situation, many consumers may rely on one online shoppingplatform for all of their online shopping needs. As such, the consumersmay easily locate past shopping records. However, even in just oneonline shopping environment, returns or exchanges by the consumers maynot be kept or organized in one location. Moreover, consumers purchasegoods from many merchants or online sources. As such, suppose a consumerreturned an item in the last six months or a year, but forgot thereasons for the returns or exchanges. Current implementations do notinclude a technical approach to provide a recommendation or a suggestionwhen the consumer is searching for a similar item again. This may causethe consumer to purchase a similar item or an identical item again andmay end up returning the item again.

Therefore, embodiments of the invention attempt to solve or address oneor more of the technical problems identified above.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention may provide a technical solution bybuilding an intelligent system to provide a recommendation or asuggestion to the user about post-purchase, post-sale, or pastpurchases. In one embodiment, a system provides a browser widget or anadd-on tool that monitors user's purchasing and searching activities.Aspects of the invention actively identify and update product-specificparameters, such as a serial number, a stock keeping unit (SKU) value, auniversal product code (UPC) value, or the like to the user'spost-purchase, post-sale, or past purchase activities, including returnsor exchanges. As such, embodiments of the invention, upon identifying asearch term that is relevant to one of the product-specific parametersin the post-purchase, post-sale, or past purchase activities, provide atimely recommendation or notification to the user so that the user mayeither adjust its purchasing or searching behaviors or increaseconfidence regarding its pending purchase as a result of the searches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Persons of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that elements in thefigures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity so not allconnections and options have been shown to avoid obscuring the inventiveaspects. For example, common but well-understood elements that areuseful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment may often notbe depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of thesevarious embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be furtherappreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described ordepicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in theart will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence isnot actually required. It will also be understood that the terms andexpressions used herein may be defined with respect to theircorresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except wherespecific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

FIG. 1 is a screenshot illustrating a typical set of purchase history.

FIG. 2 is a screenshot illustrating a set of purchase history accordingto one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a system for providing pre-purchaserecommendations according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 4A-6B are screenshots illustrating a browser widget according toone embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of an improvedpurchase history according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a portable computing device accordingto one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a remote computing device according toone embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a pre-purchase recommendationnotification method according to one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention may now be described more fully with reference tothe accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, byway of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments by which theinvention may be practiced. These illustrations and exemplaryembodiments may be presented with the understanding that the presentdisclosure is an exemplification of the principles of one or moreinventions and may not be intended to limit any one of the inventions tothe embodiments illustrated. The invention may be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Amongother things, the present invention may be embodied as methods, systems,computer readable media, apparatuses, or devices. Accordingly, thepresent invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment,an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software andhardware aspects. The following detailed description may, therefore, notto be taken in a limiting sense.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a screenshot 102 shows a typical post-purchase,post-sale, or past purchase record or history. In one example, thescreenshot 102 may include a graphical user interface (GUI), a webportal page, an HTML page, or the like. In one embodiment, thescreenshot 102 may be presented on a user device, such as the deviceshown in FIG. 8 and supported by the server described in FIG. 9 , to befurther discussed in FIG. 3 . In one example, the screenshot 102 mayinclude a search bar 104 to enable a user to search one or morepost-purchase, post-sale, or past purchases based on keywords,descriptions, or other parameters. The screenshot 102 further includes atable 106 displaying additional details of the post-purchase, post-sale,or past purchases. For example, the table 106 may include fields such as“Name,” “Date of the Purchase,” and “Price.” For example, a record 108in the post-purchase, post-sale, or past purchase history in thescreenshot 102 may identify an item “Men's running shoes,” purchased onMarch 24, 2017 at a price of $159.99.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , an improved record of post-purchase,post-sale, or past purchase history is shown using a screenshot 202 asan example. For example, similar to FIG. 1 , the screenshot 202 may alsoinclude a search bar 204 and a table 206 illustrating the contentsthereof. However, aspects of the invention generate the improved recordshown in the table 206 by adding product-specific details such as fields208 and 210. For example, the product-specific detail field 208 mayinclude a stock keeping unit (SKU) value, a universal product code (UPC)value, a size value, a color value, and/or a serial number. In oneembodiment, the status field 210 identifies a status of the purchase,such as “purchased,” “returned,” “exchanged,” etc. In one embodiment,the status field 210 may also show “recalled” if the post-purchase,post-sale, or past purchase has been recalled.

In one embodiment, the product-specific detail fields 208 and 210 may begathered from the user, such that the screenshot 202 shows right arrows212 to indicate that there may be more fields may be available. Forexample, the user may forward the purchase information to a system 300in FIG. 3 so that the contents of the purchase may be identified orgathered. In one example, the user may set up an automatic forwardingfor purchases to an email of the system 300 designated for analyzingsuch purchase information. The system 300 may maintain a database 312,separate from the user's own email system or computer systems.

For example, the system 300 may possess transactional records of theuser stored in the database 312. In one embodiment, the system 300 maybe a payment processor or acquirer and may be connected to a distributednetwork server 310. In another embodiment, the system 310 300 mayprovide a virtual wallet service 316 hosted by the server 310 where theuser may store or save credit cards or other payment devices associatedwith the virtual wallet 316. For example, the virtual or digital walletservice may include VISA Checkout or other digital wallet services orapps. As such, when the user uses one of the payment devices associatedwith the virtual wallet 316, the system 300 may store a copy of suchpurchase transactions in the database 312 or 314. However, it is knownsuch information may be incomplete and many times, when there is areturn or exchange, the system 300 may not be able to reflect suchpost-transaction activities.

As such, the system 300 may supplement its records by receivinginformation from the user, such as the user devices 302-1 and 302-2, ata server 306. In one embodiment, the server 306 may also includeprocessors to execute artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to receiveinputs from the user via a browser widget 304-2 and a mobile app 304-1to search for the needed information on the Internet 318 to provide tothe user a better shopping experience. In one embodiment, the system 300may constantly crawl through the Internet 318 to identifyproduct-specific details based on the shopping or transactionalinformation from the user. For example, in one embodiment, the user maypurchase a pair of shoes from a certain brand over the Internet. Thesystem 300 may, based on the receipt or shipping email from the user,crawl through the Internet 318 pages to add SKU or other information.The system 300 may first identify information from the user's receipt orshipping email.

In another embodiment, the system 300 may supplement the information byestablishing a separate communications with a merchant or a manufacturer320. For example, the system 300, with the servers 306 and 310 may becoupled with the merchant or manufacturer server 320 to retrieve productinformation or details. As such, based on the stored data in thedatabase 314 (based on data of the virtual wallet services 316) and thedatabase 312, the system 300 may continuously and periodically providesupplement information to the post-purchase, post-sale, or past purchaserecord data provided by the user.

In one embodiment, the system 300 provides a widget, a tool, or anadd-on, such as 304-1 and 34-2, on the user device. As part ofinstalling the widget, a user may be informed of the data gatheringaspect of the widget and agree to have the widget review past purchasedata.

Referring now to FIG. 4A, a screenshot 402 illustrates one embodiment ofthe invention. In one example, the screenshot 402 includes a GUI to bepresented on a mobile device or user device (such as the one in FIG. 8). In one embodiment, the screenshot 402 includes a search bar 406, anda search field. In one embodiment, the search field may receive input orquery from the user. In another embodiment, the search bar 406 and thesearch field may be provided by a browser of a user device, such as302-1 or 302-2, in a content display area 408 or 608 in FIGS. 6A and 6B.For example, the browser may enable the user to browse the Internet. Inanother embodiment, the browser may be part of an operating system, suchas the operating system discussed in FIG. 8 . In another embodiment, thebrowser may be a standalone software or application program. In afurther example, the browser or the operating system may be part of amobile device that may configured to fit within the limited sizedscreen. In yet another embodiment, the browser may be a mobileapplication or app that may be installed on the mobile device.

Still referring to FIG. 4A, the user may use the screenshot 402 tosearch for products on the Internet as an intent to shop or performingan “online window shopping”. According to one embodiment, a pre-purchasewidget 410 may be provided as an add-on or a widget. The pre-purchasewidget 410 may be installed with the operating system of the userdevice. In yet another embodiment, the pre-purchase widget 410 may beinstalled as an app on a mobile device and may not be visible to theuser but may have access to searches, etc., of another app, such as thebrowser app.

Referring now to FIG. 4B, the pre-purchase widget 410 may monitor user'sinputs or queries in the search bar 406. For example, the user's query404 may be “Boy's running shoes”. In response to the query, the browsermay display one or more search results, such as the result 416, in thecontent display area 408. In this example, the result 416 may includedescriptions of one of the results that is most relevant to the query404. The descriptions may further include a photography 412 of the oneof the results 416.

As the user enters the query 404, the pre-purchase widget 410 may alsomonitor the query 404. For example, the pre-purchase widget 410 maysearch a data store storing post-purchase, post-sale, or past purchaserecords, such as those shown in FIG. 2 and the system 300 in FIG. 3 .

Referring to FIG. 5 , another embodiment of the pre-purchase widget 410may be provided to the user. In this embodiment, the pre-purchase widget410 may access post-purchase, post-sale, or past purchase records orhistory from the user via an email. As such, FIG. 5 illustrates ascreenshot 512 showing the user sending purchase information in an emailto the system. For example, the screenshot 512 may be part of thebrowser as discussed above, or part of an email client application. Forexample, the user may enter his or her email address at 520, enteringemail account, ishop@company.com or pre-purchase@company.com at 522 forthe server for the pre-purchase widget 410, entering a subject at 524,and the content of the message 526. In one embodiment, the server in thesystem 300 may execute codes and programs through the pre-purchasewidget 410 to interact with the user.

As seen in FIG. 5 , the pre-purchase widget 410 may also be added orimplemented in the email client application. As such, it is to beunderstood that the pre-purchase widget 410 may be implemented as onemay see fit to gather information for the user regarding post-purchase,post-sale or past purchase activities.

Referring now to FIGS. 6A and 6B, a screenshot 602 shows aspects of theinvention. For example, as discussed above, the user has entered thequery 404 “Boy's running shoes” into the search bar 406. Thepre-purchase widget 610 may, in one embodiment, constantly monitor theuser input or query 404. As the pre-purchase widget 610 monitors theinput or query 404, the system 300 may compare with the input or query404 with the post-purchase, post-sale, or past purchase activities, suchas the post-purchase or post-sale activities, purchase history, or thelike. In response to a match between the input or query 404 and one ofthe items in the post-purchase, post-sale, or past purchase records, thepre-purchase widget 601 may provide a notification or indicia on thebrowser or application on the user device.

As part of the illustration, the record 504 in FIG. 2 , which shows thatthe user has purchased a similar item on May 29, 2015. In addition, theitem was later returned based on the “status” field. Theproduct-specific detail further includes data such as “SKU: 08304932”and “color: silver.” The system 300 determines that there is a matchbetween the query 404 and the record 504, and provides a notification614 with the message:

NOTE: You returned a pair of Boy's running shoes (SKU: 08306932 inSilver) on May 29, 2015. Do you want to continue with the search?

In other words, embodiments of the invention provide a holistic approachto the user's shopping experience by providing a pre-purchaserecommendation or suggestion based on the post-purchase, post-sale, orpast purchase activities and current searches. In one embodiment, thesystem 300 correlates the product-specific parameters with thepost-purchase, post-sale, or past purchase activities. In oneembodiment, the correlation may be stored as associated with the user asa user profile, etc.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6B, a different notification 616may provide additional interactive features. For example, the messagemay be:

-   -   NOTE: You returned a pair of Boy's running shoes (SKU: 08306932        in Silver) on May 29, 2015.    -   Click here to see more details about the previous purchase, such        as reasons for the returned, return shipping, etc.    -   Find a similar item.    -   Find a different size.

Each of the underlined may include an active hypertext link which mayredirect the user to a different page that provides additional contentbased on the context. For example, the “returned” link may providedetails of the return, such as the tracking number, date of the return,and whether the return was accepted. In another embodiment, “click hereto see more details,” may provide details of the reasons of the return.In another embodiment, “find” a similar item, may redirect the user toanother page or tab of a similar item from different brands, etc.Similarly, “find” a bigger size may redirect the user to another pagecontaining the same product such that the user may select a differentsize. In one embodiment, the user may be directed to a newer version ofthe same product if previously purchased product has been recalled ordiscontinued. As such, aspects of the invention provide a comprehensiveset of information in the pre-purchase stage. The user may then make aninformed decision or a faster decision on whether to search for the sameitem or a different item based on the post-purchase, post-sale, or pastpurchase activities.

In one embodiment, the notification, suggestion, recommendation, orindicia 614 and 616 may be provided in real-time or substantially inreal-time. As such, the user may be able to quickly make the decision.

Referring now to FIG. 7 , a data structure 700 illustrates for storingthe post-purchase, post-sale, or past purchase activity recordsaccording to one embodiment of the invention. For example, the datastructure includes a first data field 702, a second data field 704, anda third data field 706. The first data field 702 includes productinformation from the user, such as purchase data, item description,price, and status. In one embodiment, the product information from theuser may be sent from the user via sending the information to the system300 or providing permissions to the system 300 to scan the user's emailor other sources. In another embodiment, the user may also provide theproduct information to the system 300 by using the app 304-2 in themobile device 302-2 to capture an image of a receipt with productinformation. In another embodiment, the status data may be gathered inresponse to a post-return feedback from the user. For example, thepost-return feedback may be part of the user return process and thefeedback is included in the first data field 702.

The second data field 704 may include supplemental information,including product-specific data. For example, the product-specific datamay include a SKU value of a product, an UPC value of a product, aserial number of a product, a sizing information of a product, a colorinformation of a product, or the like. In another embodiment, thesupplemental information may be obtained by a crawler, which is a smallprogram that searches through the websites or public computer networksbased on a specific keyword or search criteria. In another embodiment,the supplemental information may be obtained or received from a thirdparty source, such as a merchant or a manufacturer. In one embodimentwhere the user sends an image of the receipt, the SKU value, colorvalue, size value, etc., may be available on the receipt.

Furthermore, the third data field 706 may include other supplementalinformation, such as purchase record or data retrieved or obtained froma payment processor. For example, the payment processor may include datasuch as the kind of payment device used, merchant information, loyaltyprogram information, or the like. In another embodiment, the inclusionof the third data field 706 may be subjected to user permission oropt-out consent. In another embodiment, the third data field 706 may beautomatically accessible to the system 300 by virtue of the user's usageof the virtual wallet.

It is to be understood that the data structure 700 may be maintained ata user-level database distinguishable over other users based on the userID or other unique identifying value.

In another embodiment, the data structure 700 may include additionalinformation volunteered from the user. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 ,the system may include a configuration portal 322, which may enable theuser to enter individualized information for the virtual wallet service316. For example, the configuration portal 322 may enable the user toaccess and update the database 314 with preference parameterinformation, such as size value, color information, favorite brandinformation, favorite style, etc. In a further embodiment, the user mayuse the configuration portal 322 to alter or modify scanning permissionsby the system 300. The servers 306 and 310 may incorporate theadditional information volunteered from the user to the data structure700 for crawling or making recommendation purposes.

FIG. 8 may be a high level illustration of a portable computing device801 communicating with a remote computing device 841 but the applicationmay be stored and accessed in a variety of ways. In addition, theapplication may be obtained in a variety of ways such as from an appstore, from a web site, from a store Wi-Fi system, etc. There may bevarious versions of the application to take advantage of the benefits ofdifferent computing devices, different languages, and different APIplatforms.

In one embodiment, a portable computing device 801 may be a mobiledevice 112 that operates using a portable power source 855 such as abattery. The portable computing device 801 may also have a display 802which may or may not be a touch sensitive display. More specifically,the display 802 may have a capacitance sensor, for example, that may beused to provide input data to the portable computing device 801. Inother embodiments, an input pad 804 such as arrows, scroll wheels,keyboards, etc., may be used to provide inputs to the portable computingdevice 801. In addition, the portable computing device 801 may have amicrophone 806 which may accept and store verbal data, a camera 808 toaccept images and a speaker 810 to communicate sounds.

The portable computing device 801 may be able to communicate with acomputing device 841 or a plurality of computing devices 841 that makeup a cloud of computing devices 811. The portable computing device 801may be able to communicate in a variety of ways. In some embodiments,the communication may be wired such as through an Ethernet cable, a USBcable or RJ6 cable. In other embodiments, the communication may bewireless such as through Wi-Fi (802.11 standard), Bluetooth, cellularcommunication or near field communication devices. The communication maybe direct to the computing device 841 or may be through a communicationnetwork 102 such as cellular service, through the Internet, through aprivate network, through Bluetooth, etc. FIG. 8 may be a simplifiedillustration of the physical elements that make up a portable computingdevice 801 and FIG. 9 may be a simplified illustration of the physicalelements that make up a server type computing device 841.

FIG. 8 may be a sample portable computing device 801 that is physicallyconfigured according to be part of the system. The portable computingdevice 801 may have a processor 850 that is physically configuredaccording to computer executable instructions. It may have a portablepower supply 855 such as a battery which may be rechargeable. It mayalso have a sound and video module 860 which assists in displaying videoand sound and may turn off when not in use to conserve power and batterylife. The portable computing device 801 may also have volatile memory865 and non-volatile memory 870. It may have GPS capabilities 880 thatmay be a separate circuit or may be part of the processor 850. Therealso may be an input/output bus 875 that shuttles data to and from thevarious user input devices such as the microphone 806, the camera 808and other inputs, such as the input pad 804, the display 802, and thespeakers 810, etc. It also may control of communicating with thenetworks, either through wireless or wired devices. Of course, this isjust one embodiment of the portable computing device 801 and the numberand types of portable computing devices 801 is limited only by theimagination.

As a result of the system, better information may be provided to a userat a point of sale. The information may be user specific and may berequired to be over a threshold of relevance. As a result, users maymake better informed decisions. The system is more than just speeding aprocess but uses a computing system to achieve a better outcome.

The physical elements that make up the remote computing device 841 maybe further illustrated in FIG. 9 . At a high level, the computing device841 may include a digital storage such as a magnetic disk, an opticaldisk, flash storage, non-volatile storage, etc. Structured data may bestored in the digital storage such as in a database. The server 841 mayhave a processor 1000 that is physically configured according tocomputer executable instructions. It may also have a sound and videomodule 1005 which assists in displaying video and sound and may turn offwhen not in use to conserve power and battery life. The server 841 mayalso have volatile memory 1010 and non-volatile memory 1015.

The database 1025 may be stored in the memory 1010 or 1015 or may beseparate. The database 1025 may also be part of a cloud of computingdevice 841 and may be stored in a distributed manner across a pluralityof computing devices 841. There also may be an input/output bus 1020that shuttles data to and from the various user input devices such asthe microphone 806, the camera 808, the inputs such as the input pad804, the display 802, and the speakers 810, etc. The input/output bus1020 also may control of communicating with the networks, either throughwireless or wired devices. In some embodiments, the application may beon the local computing device 801 and in other embodiments, theapplication may be remote 841. Of course, this is just one embodiment ofthe server 841 and the number and types of portable computing devices841 is limited only by the imagination.

The user devices, computers and servers described herein may be generalpurpose computers that may have, among other elements, a microprocessor(such as from the Intel Corporation, AMD, ARM, Qualcomm, or MediaTek);volatile and non-volatile memory; one or more mass storage devices(i.e., a hard drive); various user input devices, such as a mouse, akeyboard, or a microphone; and a video display system. The user devices,computers and servers described herein may be running on any one of manyoperating systems including, but not limited to WINDOWS, UNIX, LINUX,MAC OS, iOS, Android, or Windows (XP, VISTA, etc.). It is contemplated,however, that any suitable operating system may be used for the presentinvention. The servers may be a cluster of web servers, which may eachbe LINUX based and supported by a load balancer that decides which ofthe cluster of web servers should process a request based upon thecurrent request-load of the available server(s).

The user devices, computers and servers described herein may communicatevia networks, including the Internet, WAN, LAN, Wi-Fi, other computernetworks (now known or invented in the future), and/or any combinationof the foregoing. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill inthe art having the present specification, drawings, and claims beforethem that networks may connect the various components over anycombination of wired and wireless conduits, including copper, fiberoptic, microwaves, and other forms of radio frequency, electrical and/oroptical communication techniques. It should also be understood that anynetwork may be connected to any other network in a different manner. Theinterconnections between computers and servers in system are examples.Any device described herein may communicate with any other device viaone or more networks.

Referring now to FIG. 10 , a flow chart illustrates a method ofgenerating pre-purchase recommendations according to one embodiment ofthe invention. At 1050, aspects of the invention present a browserwidget to be selected for installation and executable within a browserexecution environment. In one example, the browser widget may be add-onscripts to be executed by the browser execution environment. Informationabout the data collected, how it is stored, how it is used and how itmay be shared may also be described and a user may be able to adjust howthe data is used or deny permission all together. At 1052, in responseto the installation of the browser widget in a memory of a device wherethe browser execution environment is installed, embodiments of theinvention scan purchase records of post-sale activities presented on thebrowser execution environment. In one embodiment, the system 300 scan adata source, such as those in 312, 314, and/or 318. In anotherembodiment, the system 300 may scan contents presented in the browserexecution environment. In a further embodiment, the system 300 mayreceive data from post-sale activities from the user via emails or othercommunications from the user. For example, the user may upload receiptsor other evidence of sale to the system 300 via the virtual walletservice 316.

At 1054, based on the scanned purchase records, the system 300 furthersearches at least one database separate from that of the memory forproduct-specific parameters of each of the scanned purchase records. Inone example, the product-specific parameters include at least one ormore of the following: a stock keeping unit (SKU) value, a universalproduct code (UPC) value, a size value, and a color value. In anotherembodiment, the product-specific parameters may also include serialnumbers. At 1056, the system 300 may further store the searchedproduct-specific parameters and the post-sale activities in adistributed data storage unit accessible by the browser executionenvironment. In another embodiment, at 1058, the system 300 maycorrelate the product-specific parameters with the post-sale activities.In one example, the correlated results are stored in the distributeddata storage unit. At 1060, the system 300 may monitor purchasingactivities of a user on the browser execution environment. For example,the purchasing activities may include a search or query on a search bar.In another embodiment, the purchasing activities may further include aselection or highlighting of an item.

In response to the monitoring, the system 300 may retrieve,substantially in real-time, relevant correlated results from thedistributed data storage unit at 1062. At 1064, based on the retrievedcorrelated results, the system 300 may generate a pre-purchasingconfidence recommendation to the user before completion of a purchase bythe user. In another embodiment, the system 300 may executecomputer-executable instructions according to that of FIG. 10 . Inanother embodiment, at least a portion of the instructions according toFIG. 10 may be implemented via the browser widget 410 and 610.

The example embodiments may include additional devices and networksbeyond those shown. Further, the functionality described as beingperformed by one device may be distributed and performed by two or moredevices. Multiple devices may also be combined into a single device,which may perform the functionality of the combined devices.

The various participants and elements described herein may operate oneor more computer apparatuses to facilitate the functions describedherein. Any of the elements in the above-described Figures, includingany servers, user devices, or databases, may use any suitable number ofsubsystems to facilitate the functions described herein.

Any of the software components or functions described in thisapplication, may be implemented as software code or computer readableinstructions that may be executed by at least one processor using anysuitable computer language such as, for example, Java, C++, or Perlusing, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques.

The software code may be stored as a series of instructions or commandson a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a random accessmemory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as ahard-drive or a floppy disk, or an optical medium such as a CD-ROM. Anysuch computer readable medium may reside on or within a singlecomputational apparatus and may be present on or within differentcomputational apparatuses within a system or network.

It may be understood that the present invention as described above maybe implemented in the form of control logic using computer software in amodular or integrated manner. Based on the disclosure and teachingsprovided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art may know andappreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the present inventionusing hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

The above description is illustrative and is not restrictive. Manyvariations of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in theart upon review of the disclosure. The scope of the invention should,therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description,but instead should be determined with reference to the pending claimsalong with their full scope or equivalents.

One or more features from any embodiment may be combined with one ormore features of any other embodiment without departing from the scopeof the invention. A recitation of “a”, “an” or “the” is intended to mean“one or more” unless specifically indicated to the contrary. Recitationof “and/or” is intended to represent the most inclusive sense of theterm unless specifically indicated to the contrary.

One or more of the elements of the present system may be claimed asmeans for accomplishing a particular function. Where suchmeans-plus-function elements are used to describe certain elements of aclaimed system it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in theart having the present specification, figures and claims before them,that the corresponding structure is a general purpose computer,processor, or microprocessor (as the case may be) programmed to performthe particularly recited function using functionality found in anygeneral purpose computer without special programming and/or byimplementing one or more algorithms to achieve the recitedfunctionality. As would be understood by those of ordinary skill in theart that algorithm may be expressed within this disclosure as amathematical formula, a flow chart, a narrative, and/or in any othermanner that provides sufficient structure for those of ordinary skill inthe art to implement the recited process and its equivalents.

While the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms,the drawings and discussion are presented with the understanding thatthe present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of one ormore inventions and is not intended to limit any one of the inventionsto the embodiments illustrated.

The present disclosure provides a solution to the long-felt needdescribed above. In particular, the systems and methods described hereinmay be configured for improving transaction data using two-dimensionalcode. Further advantages and modifications of the above described systemand method will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Thedisclosure, in its broader aspects, is therefore not limited to thespecific details, representative system and methods, and illustrativeexamples shown and described above. Various modifications and variationscan be made to the above specification without departing from the scopeor spirit of the present disclosure, and it is intended that the presentdisclosure covers all such modifications and variations provided theycome within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for generatingpre-purchasing confidence recommendations for a user comprising:presenting a browser widget to be selected for installation andexecutable within a browser execution environment, wherein the browserwidget provides functionality within the browser execution environmentonly and is presented to the user as an icon on a graphical userinterface (GUI) of the browser execution environment; in response to theinstallation of the browser widget in a memory of a device where thebrowser execution environment is installed and in response to searchqueries input by the user in a search bar presented on the GUI of thebrowser execution environment, scanning, via the browser widget,purchase records for a first set of post-sale activities and electronicmail messages for another set of post-sale activities, wherein the firstset of post-sale activities and the another set of post-sale activitiesare associated with at least: a return request of a past purchased item,an acceptance from a merchant of the return request, an exchange requestof a past purchased item, or a feedback of a past purchased item fromthe user; presenting the scanned purchase records that include thepost-sale activities in a content display area on the browser executionenvironment; based on the scanned purchase records as presented in thecontent display area, searching at least one database separate from thatof the memory for product-specific parameters of each purchase record ofthe scanned purchase records, said product-specific parameters includingat least one or more of the following: a stock keeping unit (SKU) value,a universal product code (UPC) value, a size value, and a color value;storing the searched product-specific parameters and the post-saleactivities in a distributed data source accessible by the browserexecution environment; correlating and updating, absent user input, theproduct-specific parameters with the post-sale activities, whereincorrelated results are stored in the distributed data source; monitoringpurchasing activities of the user on the browser execution environment;in response to the monitoring, retrieving, substantially in real-time,relevant correlated results from the distributed data source; and basedon the retrieved correlated results, generating a pre-purchasingconfidence recommendation at a pre-determined notification location ofthe GUI of the browser execution environment to the user while thecontent display area of the browser execution environment displays thescanned purchase records before completion of a purchase by the user. 2.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating comprisesgenerating the pre-purchasing confidence recommendation to the user inresponse to the user adding an item to an online shopping cart.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating comprisesgenerating the pre-purchasing confidence recommendation to the user inresponse to the user searching for an item matching one of theproduct-specific parameters from the distributed data storage unit. 4.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising receivinginput from the user, said input comprising personal preferences ofproducts.
 5. A computer system for generating pre-purchasing confidencerecommendations comprising: a memory of a user device for storingapplications and data; a display of the user device for presentinggraphical user interfaces (GUI) of a browser execution environment to auser; a processor configured to execute computer-executableinstructions, wherein the processor is accessible by the memory, whereinthe processor is configured to execute computer-executable instructionsfor: presenting a browser widget to be selected by the user via thedisplay of the user device for installation and executable within abrowser execution environment on the user device, wherein the browserwidget provides functionality within the browser execution environmentonly and is presented to the user as an icon on the graphical userinterface (GUI) of the browser execution environment; in response to theinstallation of the browser widget in the memory of the user device andin response to search queries input by the user in a search barpresented on the GUI of the browser execution environment, scanning, viathe browser widget, purchase records a first set of post-sale activitiesand electronic mail messages for another set of post-sale activities,wherein the first set of post-sale activities and the another set ofpost-sale activities are associated with at least: a return request of apast purchased item, an acceptance from a merchant of the returnrequest, an exchange request of a past purchased item, or a feedback ofa past purchased item from the user; presenting the scanned purchaserecords that include the post-sale activities in a content display areaon the browser execution environment; based on the scanned purchaserecords as presented in the content display area, searching at least onedatabase separate from that of the memory for product-specificparameters of each purchase record of the scanned purchase records, saidproduct-specific parameters including at least one or more of thefollowing: a stock keeping unit (SKU) value, a universal product code(UPC) value, a size value, and a color value; storing the searchedproduct-specific parameters and the post-sale activities in adistributed data source accessible by the browser execution environment;correlating and updating, absent user input, the product-specificparameters with the post-sale activities, wherein correlated results arestored in the distributed data source; monitoring purchasing activitiesof the user on the browser execution environment; in response to themonitoring, retrieving, substantially in real-time, relevant correlatedresults from the distributed data source; and based on the retrievedcorrelated results, generating a pre-purchasing confidencerecommendation at a pre-determined notification location of the GUI ofthe browser execution environment to the user while the content displayarea of the browser execution environment displays the scanned purchaserecords before completion of a purchase by the user.
 6. The computersystem of claim 5, wherein generating comprises generating thepre-purchasing confidence recommendation to the user in response to theuser adding an item to an online shopping cart.
 7. The computer systemof claim 5, wherein generating comprises generating the pre-purchasingconfidence recommendation to the user in response to the user searchingfor an item matching one of the product-specific parameters from thedistributed data storage unit.
 8. The computer system of claim 5,further comprising receiving input from the user, said input comprisingpersonal preferences of products.
 9. The computer system of claim 5,wherein the purchasing activities comprise searches entered in a searchbar.
 10. A tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium storedthereon computer-executable instructions for generating pre-purchasingconfidence recommendations, said computer-executable instructionscomprising: presenting a browser widget to be selected by a user via adisplay of a user device for installation and executable within anexecution environment on the user device, wherein the browser widgetprovides functionality within the browser execution environment only andis presented to the user as an icon on a graphical user interface (GUI)of the execution environment; in response to the installation of thebrowser widget in a memory of the user device and in response to searchqueries input by the user in a search bar presented on the GUI of theexecution environment, scanning, via the browser widget, purchaserecords for a first set of post-sale activities and electronic mailmessages for another set of post-sale activities, wherein the first setof post-sale activities and the another set of post-sale activities areassociated with at least: a return request of a past purchased item, anacceptance from a merchant of the return request, an exchange request ofa past purchased item, or a feedback of a past purchased item from theuser; presenting the scanned purchase records that include the post-saleactivities in a content display area on the execution environment; basedon the scanned purchase records as presented in the content displayarea, searching at least one database separate from that of the memoryfor product-specific parameters of each purchase record of the scannedpurchase records, said product-specific parameters including at leastone or more of the following: a stock keeping unit (SKU) value, auniversal product code (UPC) value, a size value, and a color value;storing the searched product-specific parameters and the post-saleactivities in a distributed data source accessible by the executionenvironment; correlating and updating, absent user input, theproduct-specific parameters with the post-sale activities, whereincorrelated results are stored in the distributed data source; monitoringpurchasing activities of the user on the execution environment; inresponse to the monitoring, retrieving, substantially in real-time,relevant correlated results from the distributed data source; and basedon the retrieved correlated results, generating a pre-purchasingconfidence recommendation at a pre-determined notification location ofthe GUI of the execution environment to the user while a content displayarea of the execution environment displays the scanned purchase recordsbefore completion of a purchase by the user.
 11. The tangiblenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein generatingcomprises generating the pre-purchasing confidence recommendation to theuser in response to the user adding an item to an online shopping cart.12. The tangible non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10,wherein the purchasing activities comprise searches entered in a searchbar presented in the execution environment.